


Leaves and Sand

by Stariceling



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Love Triangle, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2007-06-04
Updated: 2007-06-04
Packaged: 2017-12-05 18:50:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/726691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stariceling/pseuds/Stariceling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neji doesn't think Gaara should be visiting Lee. He's Lee's proclaimed rival, after all. (Neji/Lee, implied Gaara/Lee, Lee/???)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leaves and Sand

**Author's Note:**

> No specific spoilers (takes place after the Kimimaru incident at the very least, so there is no confusion).
> 
> I had wanted to turn this into a longer thing, but I'm admitting defeat. While I still like the concept of Neji and Gaara fighting over Lee, I just never found a proper plot to work with.

Neji didn't know how they had talked him into sleeping. Before he had left Lee had been insisting that he didn't need rest. He had been nothing less than adamant that his injury was only a scratch. Neji was surprised, and honestly glad, that he hadn't been forced to go out searching for Lee, only to find him collapsed in the middle of their training field, or in some side street, halfway home.

By now he should have been used to Lee’s stubborn protests that he was all right, even when he obviously wasn’t. He could almost appreciate Lee’s desire to maintain his appearance of strength in front of his teammates. The only frustrating thing was the fact that Lee seemed to want to get out of bed just to go see Gaara. Neji understood that there was very little chance of Lee receiving a friendly visit from Gaara, but he didn’t see how that was so important that Lee wanted to jump out of bed and go see him right that minute. 

He had been so eager to finish their mission quickly and efficiently, too. Neji frowned, thinking about it. He had said something about a challenge, but he hadn’t directly challenged Neji. There was no way Lee should have been that excited to go and challenge Gaara.

Not that Gaara would ever think to come meet Lee in the hospital. He might be making strides in interacting sensibly with people, but he wasn’t so obsessive about it that he would do that for Lee. Lee must know that Gaara would wait until he took the initiative and approach him, but that was still no reason to rush it.

Relieved, Neji rested his fingers on the pillow beside Lee’s head. He might find a way to subtly remind Lee that _he_ was supposed to be Lee’s rival, not Gaara. Even though he had never exactly coveted that place in Lee’s life, he wasn’t about to give it up now. Lee could go after Gaara once he had defeated Neji, and Neji wasn’t about to let that happen. Ever.

Neji considered giving Lee’s cheek a friendly pat, but he wasn’t about to wake Lee after someone had actually managed to get him to sleep. He took his hand away, his fingertips trailing over the sheet for a moment. . .

Then Neji felt something under his fingers, like stray crumbs or coarse dust. He brought his hand back to his face and rubbed the grains together between his fingers, inspecting them.

Sand. Very fine sand, at that.

Those sheets must have been changed before he put Lee in that bed, less than an hour ago. They should have been clean. And Lee hadn’t had an opportunity to get sandy that he knew of.

Slowly, taking great care not to wake Lee, Neji lifted the top sheet away from Lee’s still body. He knew Lee’s entire torso had been washed carefully before they bandaged him up, yet when he trailed his fingers under Lee’s collarbone and towards his shoulder he found more of the fine sand resting on his skin.

Sand. . . how had he gotten sand on him? Neji hardly thought it possible that Gaara had taken the time to visit Lee, yet here was an utterly suspicious clue implying that he had. But Lee wasn’t. . . Lee was important. Lee was a constant presence in his life, one Neji recognized was not going away any time soon, but Lee _wasn’t_ supposed to be important to Gaara. He was supposed to be just another leaf ninja. Lee should be an ally to him, but not special in any way.

Neji trailed his fingers up Lee’s neck and over his cheek, collecting further minute traces of sand as he tried to sort his thoughts into order. Lee wasn’t supposed to be getting attention from an outsider. He should be sticking close to Neji. They went on missions together, trained together. . . Lee even challenged him once a week. How could Gaara top that?

He couldn’t. Neji stroked Lee’s cheek slowly, his fingers feather-light against Lee’s skin to avoid waking him, even though they must have drugged Lee to make him sleep this deeply. Neji almost smiled, remembering how Lee would normally spring to wakefulness at the lightest touch whenever it was his turn to take watch. They had shared that too. They had shared too much time, whispered contests in the dark and laughter in the daylight. How could a little touch from Gaara’s sand change that?

As if to agree with him, Lee made a soft noise in the back of his throat and turned his face into Neji’s hand. Neji bent closer, not even thinking about freeing the hand caught between Lee’s cheek and the pillow, but of how peaceful Lee looked as he slept. He always looked so firm when he was awake. . .

When Lee opened his lips slightly, letting out a contented sigh, Neji didn’t even stop to think. What had been, a moment before, an innocent look at Lee’s face turned into a light touch of lips on lips.

Warm. . . Neji felt odd realizing how warm Lee was now. He had never had time to appreciate the fact when Lee had tried to physically catch him during one of their challenges, or when he had supported Lee the last time he was badly injured, or even when they had fought together, pressed back-to-back.

Or was it only Lee’s mouth that was so warm? That, and the cheek still pressing his hand into the pillow. That was warm too. It must be all of Lee. He had simply never noticed it, even being close to Lee for so long. Now he was intimately aware that Lee’s mouth was warm and soft and tasted faintly of medicine and herbs.

Before he could properly process the fact that he was not merely touching Lee’s mouth, but kissing him, Neji was snapped instantly back into reality by a sound behind him. There was something familiar about that hiss, as faint as the sound of two dry leaves rubbing together, and it was not a sound he wanted to be hearing right now.

Neji straightened up and turned to meet the sound, feeling he managed to look perfectly dignified even with his hand still trapped against Lee’s pillow. Just as he had expected, he found Gaara standing just inside the doorway. The cork was out of the gourd he always wore, and a good amount of sand had already slithered out to hang around him in a faint cloud.

He was glaring. Not unusual, Neji thought, except he looked actively angry for once. Neji didn’t waste words asking why Gaara was here of all places, but matched his look with an equally cold stare. Lee was his teammate. He had every right to be here. And, if he somehow didn’t have every right to be touching. . . kissing. . . Lee, that was not for Gaara to decide. He was not about to flinch away like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Almost as if the sudden tension in the room had affected him in a way even Neji’s lips couldn’t, Lee stirred. Neji knew, by the way his eyes slowly opened instead of him jolting instantly awake and trying to spring out of bed, that they must have given Lee something to help him sleep. Obviously he didn’t need to be troubled by Gaara’s presence right now.

“Nn. . .” Lee lifted his head slightly, freeing Neji’s hand. When Neji followed the movement and placed his hand possessively on top of Lee’s head, he made no sign that the gesture was unexpected or unwelcome, and Neji decided to take that as a small victory, even if an interloper was getting too close to his teammate.

Then Lee rubbed his eyes sleepily and murmured, “Gaara-kun. . . you came,” with a careless smile. Neji tensed when he heard it, tightening his hand in Lee’s hair. When Lee acknowledged Gaara before his own teammate, his own rival, something was obviously _wrong_ in Neji’s world.


End file.
